Rahul Gandhi laughs as Italian leader raises 'Vote Chor' slogan at Bharat Summit; BJP hits back

Hyderabad/New Delhi: The BJP on Sunday accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of allowing foreign politicians to interfere in India's domestic affairs after an Italian political leader raised the Opposition's 'Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod' slogan at the Bharat Summit in Hyderabad, with Gandhi seen laughing as the slogan was repeated.

Giacomo Filibeck, secretary-general of the Party of European Socialists (PES), raised the slogan while addressing the Congress-organised summit on Saturday. He also translated it into English as "Vote thief, leave your seat", echoing Gandhi's allegations of electoral manipulation against the BJP-led government and the Election Commission.

A video of the incident, showing Gandhi laughing as Filibeck raised the slogan, triggered a political row, with BJP leaders accusing the Congress of providing a foreign political representative a platform to comment on India's internal affairs.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju took an indirect swipe at Gandhi in a post on X.

"Have you ever seen anyone laughing when India is insulted by a foreigner? I'm not asking about which Indian goes abroad to insult India," he wrote.

BJP calls Bharat Summit 'Anti-Bharat', alleges foreign interference

Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar described the gathering as an "Anti-Bharat Summit", targeting both the Congress and the Telangana government led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.

"Congress once tried to make an Italian national the Prime Minister of India. Now, at its Anti-Bharat Summit, an Italian political leader is commenting on India's internal affairs!" he wrote in a post on X.

He also accused the Telangana government of allowing foreign political representatives to interfere in India's domestic politics.

Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao accused Gandhi of applauding remarks that he said mocked India's democracy.

"Isn't it treason to let foreign leaders mock our country's democracy and proudly applaud their remarks?" he asked in a post in Telugu.

BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain also criticised Filibeck's remarks, saying no foreigner had the right to interfere in India's internal affairs.
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Congress hits back, invokes Modi's 'Howdy Modi' event

The Congress rejected the BJP's criticism, arguing that the ruling party itself had engaged with foreign political leaders on matters concerning other countries.

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said the BJP and the Narendra Modi government had no moral standing to lecture others on corruption.

Asked about Filibeck raising the slogan, Tiwari said the BJP should introspect if a foreign visitor was making such remarks.

Congress spokesperson Girija Shetkar also recalled Modi's 2019 'Howdy Modi' event in Houston, where the Prime Minister had expressed support for then US President Donald Trump ahead of the presidential election.

"Was the slogan 'Abki baar Trump sarkar' not a comment on another country's internal affairs?" she asked.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also came to Filibeck's defence, drawing a comparison with Modi's interaction with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

"If Modi can offer Melody chocolates to the Italian Prime Minister, then an Italian politician can come here and speak about this country," Raut said.
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What did the Italian leader say at the Summit?

Filibeck, while addressing the gathering, praised the protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and credited Gandhi and the Congress with leading the campaign for electoral accountability.

He referred to the participation of students, young people and Opposition parties in protests over the deletion of names from electoral rolls.

"At the heart of that fight stands the Indian National Congress and the leadership of Rahul Gandhi," he said before raising the 'Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod' slogan.

Filibeck also defended the need for international gatherings to draw attention to what he described as challenges facing democracy in India.

"Democracy is under attack in India, and we need to defend it. And the best way to defend it is to stand by Rahul Gandhi and the Indian Congress Party," he said.

Gandhi, in his address at the summit, repeated his allegations of vote manipulation and raised the issue of foreign delegates who were allegedly denied entry into India despite holding visas to attend the event.

"I'd also like to apologise to many of the delegates and leaders who were scheduled to come but were not allowed to come by the Government of India," he said.

The Bharat Summit, hosted by the Congress-led Telangana government, brought together political representatives and intellectuals from several countries.